Regulation of electronic cigarette use in public and private areas in 48 countries within the WHO European region: a survey to in-country informants
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Background: The objective of this study is to describe the legislation regulating the use of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) in various places in European countries.
Methods: A survey among experts from all countries of the World Health Organization (WHO) European Region was conducted in 2018. We collected and described data on legislation regulating e-cigarette use indoors and outdoors in public and private places, the level of difficulties in adopting the legislation, and the public support and compliance. Factors associated with the legislation adoption were identified with Poisson and linear regression analyses.
Results: Out of 48 countries, 58.3% had legislation on e-cigarette use at the national level. Education facilities were the most regulated place (58.3% of countries), while private areas (eg, homes, cars) were the least regulated ones (39.6%). A third of countries regulated e-cigarette use indoors. Difficulty and support in adopting the national legislation and its compliance were all at a moderate level. Countries’ smoking prevalence and income levels were linked to legislation adoption.
Conclusions: Although most WHO European Region countries had introduced e-cigarette use legislation at the national level, only a few of the legislation protect bystanders in indoor settings.
Methods: A survey among experts from all countries of the World Health Organization (WHO) European Region was conducted in 2018. We collected and described data on legislation regulating e-cigarette use indoors and outdoors in public and private places, the level of difficulties in adopting the legislation, and the public support and compliance. Factors associated with the legislation adoption were identified with Poisson and linear regression analyses.
Results: Out of 48 countries, 58.3% had legislation on e-cigarette use at the national level. Education facilities were the most regulated place (58.3% of countries), while private areas (eg, homes, cars) were the least regulated ones (39.6%). A third of countries regulated e-cigarette use indoors. Difficulty and support in adopting the national legislation and its compliance were all at a moderate level. Countries’ smoking prevalence and income levels were linked to legislation adoption.
Conclusions: Although most WHO European Region countries had introduced e-cigarette use legislation at the national level, only a few of the legislation protect bystanders in indoor settings.
Date Issued
2022-03-01
Date Acceptance
2020-10-28
Citation
Journal of Epidemiology, 2022, 32 (3), pp.131-138
ISSN
0917-5040
Publisher
Japan Epidemiological Association
Start Page
131
End Page
138
Journal / Book Title
Journal of Epidemiology
Volume
32
Issue
3
Copyright Statement
Copyright © 2020 Beladenta Amalia et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
License URL
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33342937
Subjects
e-cigarettes
ENDS = ENNDS
FCTC
legislation
Life Sciences & Biomedicine
MPOWER
PLACES
PREVALENCE
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Science & Technology
secondhand exposure
SMOKE
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
Japan
Article Number
JE20200332
Date Publish Online
2020-12-19